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Disgustedorite's Gem Seed AU
Gem Seed AU is an open (free to use) AU created by Disgustedorite. Though heavily decanonized in an unexpected way (that is, the fact that it was possible to decanonize at all), it's still a partial AU that can be applied on top of most other AUs. In Gem Seed AU, Gems have or used to have the ability to reproduce on their own. It differs from the more popular Gem Egg AU in that the Gems drop seeds which grow in the ground just like the stuff planted by injectors, rather than laying eggs. It differs from known canon in that there are solid objects involved at all. I still can't believe canon went there. Description In this AU, prior to the invention of injectors Gems reproduced naturally through mating much like life on Earth. After mating, each parent drops 18-24 seeds into holes or cracks in the ground. These eventually grow into Gems who emerge at full size, like those planted by injectors. In an alternate version of the AU, gems may emerge smaller and then grow up; however, the original spirit of the au was that this should not be the case. As Gems have no differing biological sexes, both parents carry and later drop the seeds. Because it takes a very long time for the seeds to grow and they emerge fully developed anyway, Gem parents do not stick around to look after them. Gem seeds will not grow in any environment that doesn't match their Gem class. For example, a Quartz seed can only grow where a Quartz kindergarten could be built, and a Ruby seed can only grow where a Ruby kindergarten could be built. Seeds produced by parents of differing mineral types might be able to grow in the same environments as either of the parents, but are often nonviable in any natural environment. Internally, the bits responsible for producing seeds and the means to fertilize them resemble the organ-like innards of injectors. In fact, this AU assumes that injectors were made based off of them. After the invention of injectors, the ability to reproduce naturally was suppressed in newly-made Gems, but an individual Gem may reactivate it by her own choice. In the event of a major disaster preventing further Gem production by artificial means, such as the death of the Diamonds, the highest elites have orders to activate an ancient device that will send specially encoded vibrations through an atmosphere to restore the ability for all Gems within its range. Inherited Features The offspring of two differing Gems will always be some combination of both parents' features. Form Attributes Features of the physical form will be inherited just as they would be in humans, though the colors are often drastically impacted by the color of the gemstone. Some examples include: * Skin shade (how light or dark the skin is in relation to the gemstone) * Eye hue (the color of the eye; if no color suiting for the gemstone is available, it may be black or random) * Blood hue (the color of the blood; if no color suiting for the gemstone is available, it may be random) * Hair hue (the color of the hair; if no color suiting for the gemstone is available, it may be random) * Hair shade (how light or dark the hair is in relation to the gemstone) * Skin markings (including spots and stripes) * Hair markings * Mutations (usually a 50% chance of young Gems inheriting each mutation present in parents, 100% if the mutation has been present in one or both lineages for a long time) * Base clothing style * Base clothing texture * Base clothing hue * Base clothing shade * Hair extent (what parts of the body are covered in hair; especially relevant when Zircons are involved) Gemstone Attributes The location of the gemstone will be at any point between the locations of the parents' gemstones. If one of the parents has a symmetrical gemstone location, such as on the chest or forehead, then the offspring has a 50% chance of also having a symmetrical gemstone regardless of how much asymmetrical space lies between the parents' gemstones. The shape of the gemstone will usually be a combination of both parents' gemstone shapes. In one documented case, the hybrid-type offspring of a hexagon-cut Quartz and a square-cut Ruby had a pentagon facet. Compatibility Any two Gems can mate and produce viable seeds, but the further apart they are chemically, the less likely it is that they could grow in any natural environment. A chart or page will be added eventually showing a theoretical "family tree" indicating how closely related different kinds of Gems are, and thus the likelihood there is of them producing viable seeds with one another. In the meantime, here's a list of successful crosses. Complications Sometimes, things go wrong. Of course, Gems produced naturally are more prone to mutation and deformity than Gems planted by injectors as the natural process is much more sloppy and mistakes can be made. But there's more. So, so much more. Corrupted Gems It is highly improbably but still theoretically possible for Corrupted Gems to mate and produce seeds. The seeds may grow into Gems already corrupted when they emerge, but the chances vary depending on the circumstances. * If neither parent is corrupted at the time of mating, the seeds will not be corrupted, even if the parents corrupt before dropping them. * If both parents are corrupted at the time of mating, all the seeds will be corrupted, even if the parents are healed before dropping them. * If one parent is corrupted and the other is not at the time of mating, roughly half the seeds will be corrupted. Also, the non-corrupted parent should probably be arrested. A seed that's corrupted can be fixed with healing powers before being buried. However, the rarity of healing powers outside of Diamonds and the fact that it's impossible to tell on sight if a seed is corrupted makes this unlikely to happen. Hybrids A hybrid between a Gem and an organic species will bring new rules into play when they themself decide to start a family, drastically affecting every aspect of the process. Because it would take a long time to make a list of how the rules would change with every possible hybrid combination, this list will only cover Gem/Human hybrids breeding with full Gems. * A fertile male or AMAB Gem/Human hybrid can impregnate any Gem, but cannot carry seeds themself. Due to differences in biology and how the full Gem's body is set up, the number of seeds dropped by the full Gem parent after a single mating can be up to one hundred times greater than average, with a normal number of seeds being dropped five or six times a week. Please pray for any Gem who has to go through this. * A fertile female or AFAB Gem/Human hybrid can reproduce with full Gems as normal and carry up to 8 seeds themself (though usually no more than 2). However, their human half combined with weird Gem biology also means they can theoretically also get a female or AFAB full human pregnant. Seeds produced by this type of pair (a Human/Gem hybrid and a full Gem) take only about a year to be ready to emerge, pop out as toddlers, and require special conditions to develop properly compared to full humans or full Gems. * Seeds carried by an AFAB Gem/Human hybrid parent can develop in the womb just like full human babies, but the parent must eat rocks of the proper family for a gemstone to form or else the offspring will not inherit the ability to reform after death. While the gestation term is longer than for full humans and the baby will be larger than usual at birth, the toll on the parent is lessened by their Gem half; in particular, the increased size of the child may not be an issue at all as their parent can generally shapeshift as needed to give birth more easily. * Seeds carried by the full Gem parent must either be transferred to a human surrogate or buried somewhere rich in organic life and minerals. * A buried hybrid seed will use organic material and minerals around it to create the base for the developing being, but if the conditions aren't perfect then they may emerge malformed. Having said that, the best place to incubate these seeds is in a potato garden that's regularly watered with cow's milk and has the required minerals either already present in the soil or placed there artificially. While hybrids that are 3/4 Gem and 1/4 human can and do survive on their own, they do need to eat to maintain their semi-organic bodies and generally do best when cared for, preferably by their parents. Special Environments In the case of crosses between two different classes of Gem, the offspring will sometimes not be able to grow in any natural environment. This is more likely in classes that are chemically very different--A cross between a Garnet and a Peridot might grow easily in an environment associated with either Gem, while a cross between Quartz and a Bismuth would almost always require special conditions. A list of successful crosses, whether they required special environments or not, can be found here. The required conditions often must be studied for each individual seed. There are many cases where there is literally no environment where it would work, and others where by pure luck successful incubation turns out to be an easy feat. More to be added There are many more complications that can come up, and I will write them here as they come to mind. Trivia * Disgustedorite created this AU after becoming frustrated by the severe lack of any kind of Gem reproductive AU or headcanon that was even remotely close to what was already described in canon at the time. * Nearly every base aspect of this AU is built from descriptions of how Kindergartens and injectors work, particularly information included in the Classroom Gems short "How Are Gems Made" and the official book "Guide To The Crystal Gems". Later aspects come from the unexpected existence of extraction chambers in canon, which required altering minor details and made the AU itself canonically impossible. Category:AU Category:Fanon Category:A to Z Category:Disgustedorite